Over Memorial Day weekend we set off on another music meets vacation adventure. This time to Monterey, California for the Cali Roots Music Festival.
Monterey sits along the shores of Monterey Bay at the northern point of California’s Central Coast. The city is a two hour drive south from San Francisco. It is known for 17 Mile Drive, the Lone Cypress, its world class Aquarium, Cannery Row, and the famous Pebble Beach golf links.
We visited all of these spots. However, the main impetus of our trip was a day of Reggae Rock music at the Monterey County Fairgrounds. California Roots has been held here annually since 2010. What started as a small one day show has grown to a four day festival, featuring over 60 bands on three different stages.
Now when I say reggae, folks unfamiliar with the current reggae rock scene probably envision Jamaican style music. You might be thinking Bob Marley, dreadlocks, and folks decked out in red, yellow and green apparel. Reggae rock is partially influenced by that. However, the music and the scene are more centered in Southern California with strong surf, ska, rock and hip hop influences.
There were 17 bands lined up for the day we attended the festival. We managed to see the full sets of 7. Our day began with Long Beach Dub Allstars
Long Beach Dub Allstars (LBDA) were formed in 1997 by the surviving members of the band Sublime. The lineup has changed over the years, but the band’s current members include:
- Opie Ortiz - Vocals
- Miguel Happoldt - Guitar/Vocals
- Tim Wu - Sax/Flute & Vocals
- Ed Kampwith - Bass
For a time my husband ran their Instagram account. 😄 True Story.
This is where I will take a little break in my tale to provide some more background.
When I convinced my husband to move from his home in Australia to the US, he came here without a job lined up. It took him several months to get hired and he was sooooo bored. So, he was looking for ways to make use of his time.
Hubs is a BIG music enthusiast. As a youngster he did freelance band/music reviews for a ska magazine. He also covered music (album and concert reviews) for an Australian newspaper. Hubby still buys CD’s and albums and spends a lot of free time on the message boards and social media sites of his favorite musicians.
So, out of boredom and an abundance of free time, hubby ended up founding his own music news website in 2007. The site was focused on the reggae rock scene. He interviewed tons of bands. We went to all the shows, and he made some good friends along the way. He did this all from my parent’s basement!
Husband eventually landed a day job, but the hassle of running/maintaining the site stopped being fun after a few years. So he gave the site up to some other friends. One of them still runs it today.
This festival gave me a chance for another California vacation. However, it gave my husband time to see his favorite bands while catching up with some friends he made through his love of music.
Our next band of the day was b Foundation. Another SoCal reggae band, these fellows have been playing music together since 2001. I have to confess, while their music was good I was even a BIGGER fan of where they played. It was one of the festival’s tinier side stages. Surrounding the stage was comfy patio furniture and an assortment of games! I love watching a show from a lounge chair.
After enjoying a mid day churro snack, we made our way to the main stage to see DENM. This was my first time seeing him live (though hubs has had DENM on rotation in our car for months). The show was great! I am not really into that slow reggae musical rhythm. I like music with some edge and energy. DENM delivered
Our next act of the festival was a band called the Elovaters. These boys from Boston have been hitting the tour circuit hard the last couple of years. We’ve seen them play two festivals, headlining their own show, and as an opening act at maybe three other concerts.
After the Elovaters, we made our way back to the main stage to see Dispatch.. I hadn’t heard of this band until recently. However, Dispatch have been together over 25 years and are apparently one of the country’s most successful Indie bands.
Their sound is classified as “roots rock”, which combines rock, folk, reggae, country and blues influences. Dispatch actively use their platform to support social justice causes both through their lyrics and through philanthropy. The band’s performance felt incredibly positive and uplifting. Something about their style reminded me of Paul Simon’s Graceland album.
And then the sun set.
The entire fairgrounds lit up after dark. Every tree had fairy lights. Special light installations were turned on. There was even an area with fire pits to get cozy. We grabbed a couple of coffees before making our way to see the show’s headlining band.
The last act of the night was Dirty Heads. I love this band. We see them at least once a year, and have been BIG fans since their beginning.
The first time we saw DH play was in 2008. It was a lunchtime show at a college campus cafeteria! College kids were barely paying attention in passing as they moved between classes. It is crazy to have watched Dirty Heads go from anonymity to headlining massive festivals.
The band got its start in Huntington Beach, California with foundering members Jared Watson and Dustin Bushnell. “Dirty J” and “Duddy B” share lead vocal duties and Duddy also plays the guitar. The band rounded out its sound with the additions of percussionist Jon Olazabal, Matt Ochoa on drums and Dave Foral who plays both bass and keyboards. Together they have created a unique sound blending punk, reggae and hip hop influences.
All in all it was a great festival
The show wrapped up close to midnight. We had a fabulous time. It doesn’t get better than good food, good friends and good music in California. ☀️
All photos and videos are my own. Taken May 28, 2023 with an iPhone 13. Many images have previously been shared on my personal Instagram account.
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That is really gay, oh I mean reggae…. NOT….🤣🤣🤣
OH! Your “sensors” were tingling then?
Yeah to vomit🤢
Fuck I bet that was awesome! Cool hubs got to hang with some of his favs on the scene! Glad you had a good visit.
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It was a nice little trip. Concert, visiting time with my dad’s 82 year cousin, beach time, boardwalk carnie ride time, otters & seals. A good mix of fun.
Sounds like you had a lovely time! Lots to see and listen to! Glad you guys enjoyed yourselves; thanks for sharing!!🤗💜 !LADY
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Thanks for popping by. The trip was a good time. Just wish we’d had a bit more sun! 😄
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What a fantastic trip @dfinney!!😀
Good music, and California sunshine, I am surprise you came back to the rain of the northwest Lol😇😅
Very interesting story about your hubby's music Business, sounds like he is "connected" to the music scene!😀
Ha ha. We came back to the rain of the NW cause Monterey was clouded in the fog of NorCal! 😄
It sounds like the Pacific Northwest was calling Lol!😇
Some of the greatest live concerts took place in California and luckily much can be seen on youtube. A young Bob Marley for instance in Santa Barbara. And yes I am an elderly young guy!
“Elderly young guy”. 😄
Jimi Hendrix set his guitar on fire at the same spot in Monterey where we went to the festival. That is some music history! 😃
Now that looks fun! Monterey is such a nice place, I haven't been there for years now. I'll have to make a point to head up north again soon. That's interesting about the Long Beach Dub Allstars, I remember Sublime but never knew what happened to them. That looks like a blast, glad you had fun!
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Are you in SoCal?
Monterey is great. Back in 2015 we did a road trip. Flew to Palm Springs, then drive to LA, Santa Barbara, Solvang, Pismo Beach, Avila Beach, San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, San Simeon, Big Sur, Carmel, Monterey and flew home from San Jose. So many great spots along the way.
After Sublime’s lead singer died… different members of the band shifted between new bands. There was Long Beach Dub Allstars, Long Beach Short Bus, Sublime with Rome… and all the bands in the “scene” are super influenced by Sublime’s music.
Orange county, Monterey is a lot of fun but I haven't been back in years. That sounds like a great trip hitting all the those cool places. I need to drive up the coast again sometime!
Too bad he died, wasn't it heroin? It's been awhile... Glad to hear they are still making music, I'll have to check where they are performing down here.
Yeah, I think it was heroine. I bet some version of Sublime is always playing in Orange County. 😉
We are headed to your corner of the world in October. Every year I MUST have my dose of Southern California. 🙂 We didn’t go anywhere in 2020 & 2021, so last year I was insane and we took two trips to Disneyland. 😂 And went to Santa Barbara, Solvang, Redondo, Ventura, Long Beach, Laguna, Huntington… I live in Seattle but my heart is all about California. 😃
Interesting story about your hubby starting his own website, and even more amazing they're still running today. That's a lot of passion. Has he ever considered getting back into it?
He sort of still does it. But his recent thing is ska punk music vs the reggae rock. 😄
He started an Instagram (and later a Facebook & Spotify profile) few years ago called Ska Punk Daily. It’s all band news without the maintenance of running a website. He also put out a few albums featuring the different bands.
It is still just a hobby though. He has an aerospace job that is his real work. But between his Instagram and Facebook he has over 200k followers. If only he would figure out how to monetize the whole thing! 😄
Looks like a
busyfun show!Banner game is strong too.
Great post!
12.5 hours of festival… there was much to do! 😄